A.M. Roundup

With snow on the way, North Country voters head to the polls in a special state Senate race that will reverberate back to Albany, deciding whether Republicans holdÂ a two-seat margin in the chamber or Democrats further chip away at the narrow margin.Â The GOP got a boost late yesterday when the state’s highest court handed the Independence Party line to Republican candidate Will Barclay. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno says he expects to stay in power.

Bruno says the state will have billions more to spend than Gov. Eliot Spitzer predicted in his budget proposal. Assembly Republicans take a more conservative approach. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver plays it close to the vest, as is his wont, while expressing more reservations about a property tax cap.

A task force says New Yorkers need to pay more on their utility bills to help the state achieve its goal of getting one-fourth of its energy from alternative sources.

Spitzer’s Indian law adviser says the Bush administration has engaged in a string of “antogonistic” decisions on tribal land issues in New York.

Immigrants rally at the Capitol for a $100 million education and legal services initiative to help them become citizens.

In Decision ’08:

John McCain says he can withdraw from the public financing system and forgo spending caps on the campaign. He also says he needs to make the case that the U.S.’s current Iraq strategy is succeeding, but back off his statement that it was a make-or-break issue in the election. Some anti-war groups plan to spend millions on ads that say he and the Republicans are wrong on the war.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spar over a photo showing him wearing African garb, including a turban. Obama accuses the Clinton camp of circulating it; Clinton’s side says it didn’t. Here’s a story that wonders exactly what the pointÂ was anyway.Â Â

A new poll finds Obama leading Clinton nationally for the Democratic nomination among white men and liberals; she’s up among white women and older voters. Another poll also shows Obama running strong, with most Democrats viewing him as the party’s best change to beat McCain.Â And so did this one.